Welcome to our last in a series of Cal Poly Pomona Coastal Resiliency posts, featuring the observations of 4th year undergraduate students in the Landscape Architecture program.

With today’s post we mark the conclusion of our collaboration with the Cal Poly fourth-year undergraduate studio. In the course of 11 weeks, the students explored both natural and manmade strategies for adaptations and mitigation for coastal resiliency in Long Beach. Almost as important, as practicing professionals we’ve noted we too learned so much from these “bravely curious” landscape architecture students instructed by Professor Barry Lehrman.

The students presented strategies in proposal of applications to their areas of focus in Long Beach during their final presentation at AHBE. We wanted to share with you some of their amazing strategic diagrams, inventory, and analysis these students have been working on during this quarter.

Ecological hotspots in Long Beach Estevan C. and Amanda F.

“Mapping out observed bird sightings in the City of Long Beach, a pattern was shown that not only does the rich ecology try to follow bodies of water, lakes and the ocean, but the areas with the highest density were places with the highest density of people.” – Estevan C.

Zoning and Logistics of the Port of Long Beach by Jorge C.

“Our research considered of analyzing several factors and conditions such as sea level rise, ecology, mitigation strategies, demographics, all of which determine what type of intervention is the most effective in addressing the issues of a particular area. I created this map to better understand the land-use of the Port of Long Beach, which is adjacent to my team’s project site in West Long Beach.” – Jorge C.

Strategies to dissipate wave energy by Andres R.

“Our team developed strategies that attempt to dissipate wave energy which is a significant contributor to Sea Level Rise (SLR), while also supporting public use and ecological communities. The coastal resilience strategy strives to provide a space that can adapt to SLR, while also providing habitat niches for the fauna of Long Beach. The channeling concept refers to slowing down the wave energy and dispersing the water towards branching canals where the water can generate a new zone for human interaction with flourishing ecosystems. The groin and breakwater concept strives to provide an accessible space for pedestrian’s off-shore, while also accumulating SLR to generate a tide pool where fauna can congregate and be exposed to the public.” – Andres R.

Adaptation Strategies for Amphibious Neighborhoods by Illiana

“Amphibious Neighborhood is a design strategy that can work along areas with high concentration of sea level rise as well as near residential zones. In the process of creating typologies for amphibious strategies, the urban human habitat and the emergence of biodiversity are highly important. Therefore, a recognition of existing conditions but also of future scenarios that Long Beach will be adapting to.” – Illiana V.

Marine Terracing / Saltwater Tolerant Plants by Amanda F.

“Sea level rise will inevitably cause drastic changes within the urban ecosystem. As the ocean rises, the shoreline is brought in closer to the city, shifting the margins in which plants are able to thrive in various salt-inundated microclimates.

Large, open areas would be ideal for marine terracing strategies to create socially and ecologically adaptable wetlands as the water level continues to rise. Color is used in the plant diagram to highlight the variety of potential plant growth that can be installed to adapt to these new conditions, and across various scales, including the marine terracing scenario.” – Amanda F.

Re-using Shipping Containers to create dunes by Tong X.

“By burying shipping containers we can create a large displacement of sand that can be used to cover, create a series of dunes to protect against sea level rise, and will still function as a public beach” – Tong X.

Ecological Armoring Strategies with recycled concrete by Tong X.

“Enhanced seawalls take advantage of recycled concrete to provide armoring along with a surface that encourages the growth of marine life and broadens the marine ecosystem, support growth of various marine plants and animals. These surfaces provide shelves, notches, overhangs, and shade that replicates the natural formations seen along rocky coastlines. They can be tailored to induce growth of specific species of conservational value. This developing marine ecology provides an educational location for local school and facilities.” – Tong X.

Stepped Pools for wave attenuation by Tong X. & E_Esquier

“In our project, we designed terracing walls that account for high and low tides allow for the creation of artificial tidal pools that creates an interactive zone between the community and marine life. This developing marine ecology provides an educational location for local school and facilities.” – Tong X.

The question now is how we can start implementing these tactics and strategies to prepare and minimize the effects of sea level rise in our coastal communities.

About

AHBE LAB is a forum for exploration, inquiry, and collaboration. It is a place to share who we are, what inspires us, what we are dreaming about. We hope you enjoy this glimpse into our design process.